In the prior art relating to electrical apparatus, cooperating electrical connectors (which, for instance, may constitute a plug and a receptacle, respectively) are well known. In the manufacture and assembly of the electrical apparatus, tolerance accumulations may be encountered which tend to interfere with the smooth slidable reception of one electrical connector into the mating electrical connector. For example, the electrical apparatus may be carried on a slidable drawer as part of a rack of electronic equipment, and the drawer may have some degree of misalignment within the rack. In an effort to alleviate this problem, the prior art has resorted to a type of "floating" mounting means.
Such a floating mounting means is exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 4,647,130 issued to Blair et al on Mar. 3, 1987, and assigned to the assignee of the present invention. In this Blair et al '130 patent, the unthreaded shank portions of shoulder screws extend through mounting holes formed in the plug (and/or receptacle) such that each shoulder screw has a head portion which is larger than a respective mounting hole. Each mounting hole has a pair of opposed projections extending forwardly therefrom; and an elastomeric member is disposed elastically around the opposed projections across each mounting hole. Each elastomeric member has an elongated shape with respective sides elastically engaging the unthreaded shank portion of a respective shoulder screw, and each shoulder screw extends through its respective mounting hole and is secured to a respective panel by means of a cooperating threaded nut. With this arrangement, the plug (with its female contacts) has an initial floating mount. Guide pins extend forwardly of the plug housing and are received in respective alignment recesses in the receptacle housing, thereby tending to cam the plug into alignment with the receptacle. This camming action is accommodated by the resilient mounting of the plug; and once the plug is received into the receptacle, the nuts are thereafter tightened on the respective shoulder screws to solidly retain the plug and connector (and its associated respective electrical apparatus).
Moreover, in co-pending application, Ser. No. 06/944,314 filed on Dec. 22, 1986, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,761,144, and also assigned to the assignee of the present invention, the housing for an electrical connector (having female contacts) is provided with opposed transverse slots for receiving the respective edges of a panel, thereby longitudinally retaining the connector on the panel while permitting a limited lateral movement of the connector with its female contacts.
While these prior art arrangements are perfectly satisfactory for the purposes intended, nevertheless, a need exists for providing a limited (radial) floating movement of an electrical connector, wherein the floating electrical connector is retained in its respective electrical assembly and is only accessible internally thereof.